Top 8 Accounting Skills Your Outsourced Accountants Should Have
This article was initially published on SuperStaff.com
Like any other industry, the accounting sector is plagued by a pandemic-driven talent gap. Accountants are leaving in droves, forcing finance accounting teams to cover monthly and year-end audits without staff.
As businesses of all sizes struggle with financial staff shortages, outsourced accountants can lay a firm foundation for sustainability and help you future-proof your business.
Why Outsource Accounting?
Accounting is one of small to medium enterprises’ most commonly outsourced jobs. Small businesses typically outsource because they lack the resources and skills to do it in-house.
However, outsourcing accounting services can benefit not just small businesses. Outsourced accountants can help drive growth and savings for all companies, from start-ups to big corporations.
As businesses grow, they must invest more in outsourcing accounting and finance. This is a great way to maximize growth. Your firm can focus on its core competencies while your outsourcing company oversees day-to-day bookkeeping.
Partnering with an outsourcing company will give firms the latest accounting technology, industry expertise, and a deep pool of skilled talent.
Are you interested to know the advantages of outsourcing accounting services? Take a look at this rundown of accounting skills expected of outsourced accountants.
Read more: Understanding the 7 Different Types of Outsourced Financial Services
8 Must-Have Accounting Skills for Outsourced Accountants
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A full grasp of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to improve the consistency of financial records.
Since accounting is a diverse field that envelops everything from tax preparation to auditing, U.S. accountants have come to rely on grounding rules and principles that standardize their practice. These are collectively called General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
GAAP governs the consistency and clarity of financial records. Beyond just being a skill that needs to be mastered, it’s a universal language that allows accountants in the U.S. to understand other organizations’ statements easily.
With outsourced accountants working with multiple clients at a time, standardized reporting makes it much easier for auditors and stakeholders to verify the integrity of their records. GAAP also helps them compare figures – across time, organizations, and sectors – assisting businesses in tracking their fiscal health and making informed decisions.
In-depth knowledge of GAAP is sine qua non for every outsourced accountant. It is something that sets them apart from other finance professionals. Without it, businesses and investors would have little confidence in their reports’ accuracy or ability to assess financial records.
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Thorough knowledge of modern accounting software to keep pace with industry changes.
Technology is shaping the future of accounting. Nowadays, there is software for practically every imaginable accounting process, which is why a potent combination of accounting and tech skills is one of the market’s most in-demand (43%) skill sets.
Digitalization has shifted the focus of accountants’ jobs from tedious manual computation to data interpretation and providing strategic inputs. Outsourced accountants must be proficient in the latest technology to keep pace with industry demands and gain a competitive edge.
Clients these days want more efficiency, accuracy, and deeper insights—something only automation can provide. The technology optimizes operations, allowing outsourced accountants to improve the accuracy of financial records at a reduced cost. Accounting software can also secure databases and synchronize files, seamlessly integrating firms’ operations with their clients.
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Mastery of MS Excel for intense qualitative analysis
Since Excel is a ubiquitous business tool that most finance professionals can navigate, outsourced accountants need an outstanding command of the program to drive their professional success. They must learn to optimize the program’s robust features and use it for more than just number crunching and data compilation.
Qualitative analysis, an invaluable feature of the program, is just one of the staple skills they should have. This requires mastering functions such as VLookUp, table pivoting, and the more complex visual basic programming (VB scripting), all of which help accountants identify themes, relationships, and trends in enormous amounts of data.
No software can outperform Excel when drawing insights and analysis, making it the tool of choice in forecasting and propelling business growth. Competence is expected of all accountants, from entry to executive level.
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Practical communication skills in dealing with clients and stakeholders
Numbers alone are useless without context.
Outsourced accountants need effective communication to get their message across. Their role is threefold: generating, interpreting, and translating data into actionable business insights.
Outsourced accountants have to be versatile communicators since they deal with multiple clients across different sectors. Those in the finance industry will undoubtedly be more adept with numbers, but outsourced accountants should still consider those less familiar with accounting. This calls for expertise in simplifying or laymanizing complex and abstract financial concepts.
Outsourced accountants also have to be judicious in their dealings and correspondences. An accountant’s poor communication skills can negatively affect the firm, written or verbal. Delayed online responses may come off as incompetence. Difficulties in explaining certain irregularities may arouse the suspicion of stakeholders. Confusing words can misguide business decisions. In a worst-case scenario, miscommunication may lead to the loss of a client.
Accountants are known for being good with numbers, but because they face clients, investors, and other stakeholders, they must also be good with words.
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Must have superb time management skills for meticulous planning.
Time is a crucial resource that outsourced accountants cannot afford to waste, especially during monthly, yearly, and tax season audits.
Everything they do, from tax preparation to financial reports, has inflexible deadlines. Apart from complying with government-set time frames, they also have to regularly submit up-to-date information to help guide the decisions of shareholders and stakeholders. Failing to meet these deadlines warrants grave consequences and penalties.
Their work demands meticulous and strategic planning as deadlines often overlap during peak seasons. They must plan weeks, constantly working beyond regular hours to hit the deadline.
Outsourced accountants are expected to be masters of time management to stay on top of their targets while juggling multiple projects at a time.
While they were not officially trained in time management, their work teaches outsourced accountants how to set realistic time goals, prioritize urgent tasks, and work efficiently.
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Critical thinking skills to come up with out-of-the-box solutions.
Analytical skills are just as necessary for outsourced accountants as mathematical skills. They need critical thinking to interpret the story behind the numbers.
Analytical thinking helps them see the numbers from all angles, allowing them to identify patterns and forecast trends. Applying critical thinking also helps accountants scrutinize their work more closely, reducing the risk of costly errors.
Accountants deal with problems that can broadly impact businesses’ finances. However, a firm grasp of accounting fundamentals is often not enough. It takes scrutiny, analysis, and stepping the box to find strategies that can help solve these problems.
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Inherent trustworthiness to safeguard financial assets
Your clients will not entrust their confidential financial information to just anyone.
In the hands of the wrong person, their confidential data is susceptible to breach and theft. Tax refund fraud, among the most common forms of identity theft, is just one example of what can happen if a firm fails to safeguard its clients’ assets and data.
Another reason why trust is vital in the accounting industry because you are privy to sensitive information about your client’s business. Businesses need to know that you will run their numbers with the highest degree of discretion and confidentiality.
Ultimately, an outsourced accountant’s credibility and reputation are just as important as their quality of work. Clients who lose trust in an accounting firm take their business elsewhere.
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Excellent customer service skills for relationship-building
An outsourced accountant’s job does not end when they turn in their financial reports, it ends the moment the clients’ needs are met. This means that their concerns are addressed, their questions answered, and their requests answered satisfactorily.
Outsourced accountants must go beyond service delivery and build lasting client relationships. This entails working on their soft skills so clients feel comfortable discussing their issues. Customer service skills help a firm grow its clientele base and revenues simultaneously.
Read more: 8 Advanced Customer Service Skills Your Team Needs in 2021
Outsource Your Accounting to the Philippines
There is a shortage of accountants in the U.S. In 2020, the average accounting firm grew by just 5.7%, the slowest growth in eight years.
The talent gap is primarily due to a pipeline problem. The low CPA exam candidate numbers show that there is not enough new talent to meet the demand.
Meanwhile, baby boomers, who comprise 47% of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) membership, are retiring in droves. The answer to the local shortage of accountants in the U.S. is outsourcing.
The Philippines remains the top finance outsourcing destination with a literacy rate of 91.6% and an equally high English proficiency (18th out of 112 countries on the E.F. English Proficiency Index). The country has a deep talent pool of over 188,000 CPAs from top universities. The passing rate of only 22.29% for the cutthroat licensure exam shows the high standards upheld by Filipino CPAs.
The country’s accounting industry is well-established, with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), founded in 1929, one of the oldest accountancy institutions in Asia. Its accounting standards are also culturally fit for Western countries as it adheres to the International Financial Reporting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
Apart from these, Filipinos have high standards regarding customer service and work ethics, which explains the rapid growth of the country’s outsourcing sector.
Future-Proof Your Accounting With SuperStaff
No business would survive without accounting. It’s the only way to know whether you’re earning. Running a business without it is like shooting in the dark. However, not all companies have the time, money, or skills to do it in-house.
SuperStaff combines highly advanced bookkeeping software with industry expertise to provide cost-effective financial and tax solutions tailored to your business needs.
Beyond accounting and bookkeeping, our dedicated CPA team leverages their first-rate customer service skills to boost your revenues and grow your business. SuperStaff accountants undergo intensive training not just for accounting skills but also soft skills such as client care and communication.
Contact us today and let us know what you require from your accountants!